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Winemaker's Notes:

Robert Parker scores this wine 93 points and writes: "A spectacular value as well as a sleeper of the vintage is the 135,000-bottle cuvee of 2003 Carruades de Lafite (50% Merlot, 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2% Cabernet Franc). This amazing effort rivals such superb second wines as the 1989 Bahans-Haut-Brion and 1982 Forts de Latour. A serious red, it is sexy, opulent, rich, and luscious with silky tannin, enormous body, and wave after wave of mocha-infused black cherry and cassis fruit. It is almost too good to be believed. While drinkable now, it should evolve for 12-15 years or longer."

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Chateau Lafite Rothschild grew from a 180 acre winery to a massive company spanning multiple countries and producing 35,000 cases of wine annually. When Baron James de Rothschild purchased Chateau Lafite on August 8th, 1868, he was purchasing land that was already full of history. According to the 1855 classification, Chateau Lafite was ranked among the first among the First Growths,... Read more

Chateau Lafite Rothschild grew from a 180 acre winery to a massive company spanning multiple countries and producing 35,000 cases of wine annually. When Baron James de Rothschild purchased Chateau Lafite on August 8th, 1868, he was purchasing land that was already full of history. According to the 1855 classification, Chateau Lafite was ranked among the first among the First Growths, meaning that it made the best, most expensive wine at the time. Though James de Rothschild didn’t live long enough to see his winery prosper, since he died just three months after founding the chateau, his offspring have preserved the chateau’s high standing for generations.
The winery’s first major purchase took place in 1962, when they bought the dying Chateau Duhart-Milton. By that time, the once-thriving vineyard had only 42 acres to its name, but Chateau Lafite Rothschild breathed new life into the property, upgrading the equipment and replanting much of the vines. 1984 marked the start of a long chain of purchases, with Chateau Rieussec in 1984, Vina Los Vascos, in Chile, in 1988, and Chateau l’Evangile in 1990. By 1999, they began restoring the Aussieres Estate, a massive 1,500 acre plot, and in 2008 they announced plans to create a winery in Penglai, China. After all this, Baron Eric de Rothschild, the current owner of the estate, continues to look forward toward the future, with new markets, like China, just over the horizon.
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Member Reviews for Lafite-Rothschild Carruades de Lafite

Gorgeous, refined wine. This is my first taste of the Carruades, and certainly don't want it to be my last! I was surprised it drank so well in 2009, but two hours or so in the decanter did wonders. We did a classic pairing of this wine with steak bordelaise, and it was tremendous. The lovely tannins managed the rich steak and bone marrow perfectly. Wonderful!

Aromas of sweet tobacco berry and chocolate follow through to a full-bodied palate with silky tannins and a medium finish. Slightly hollow midpalate but very nicely done. Second wine of Lafite. Best after 2007. 20 000 cases made. (JS) Wine Spectator.

Located in Léognan, capital of the Graves, Domaine de Chevalier's history goes back a very long way. It is listed under the name ôChibaleyö (meaning chevalier, or knight, in Gascon) on the map drawn by the engineer Pierre de Belleyme in 1763. The Bernard family, major players in the French spirits industry and important shippers of great Bordeaux wines, acquired the estate in 1983. Domaine de Chevalier has been managed since that date by Olivier Bernard, who takes great pains to maintain the spirit of balance and search for perfection that has guided production at this superb estate for over 130 years. Domaine de Chevalier's red wine, one of the standard bearers of the Pessac-Léognan appellation, is an elite member of the Bordeaux great growths. White Domaine de Chevalier has remarkable ageing potential and is recognised far and wide as one of the greatest dry white wines in the world.

Aromas of sweet tobacco, berry and chocolate follow through to a full-bodied palate, with silky tannins and a medium finish. Slightly hollow midpalate but very nicely done. Second wine of Lafite. Best after 2007. 20,000 cases made. (JS) Wine Spectator. A Bordeaux Blend wine from Bordeaux in France. 2003 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild Carruades de Lafite 750ml

This highly regarded estate is planted with 81 acres of red grapes (65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and the balance split between Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot -the last planted in 1995). The top soil is dark sand mixed with gravel over a subsoil of gravelly clay interspersed with iron-rich alios. The wine is vatted in squat stainless tanks that are wider than taller, allowing optimum extraction, and the wine undergoes malo-lactic and is aged in 50% new oak for around 21 months. Robert Parker 90, 60.

Robert Parker scores this wine 93 points and writes: "A spectacular value as well as a sleeper of the vintage is the 135,000-bottle cuvee of 2003 Carruades de Lafite (50% Merlot, 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2% Cabernet Franc). This amazing effort rivals such superb second wines as the 1989 Bahans-Haut-Brion and 1982 Forts de Latour. A serious red, it is sexy, opulent, rich, and luscious with silky tannin, enormous body, and wave after wave of mocha-infused black cherry and cassis fruit. It is almost too good to be believed. While drinkable now, it should evolve for 12-15 years or longer."